Sunbather, 56, and girl aged eight killed as light aircraft crash lands on packed beach
A GIRL aged eight and a sunbathing man were killed when a light aircraft made an emergency landing on a packed beach in Portugal yesterday.
Witnesses described the plane – which was being used for a flying lesson – wobbling as it passed low over the heads of beachgoers who fled into the sea in panic.
It eventually landed close to the waterline at Sao Joao beach on the Costa da Caparica near Lisbon.
Journalist Enrique Pinto Coelho, who was on the beach with his son, said: ‘It advanced around 100 metres in the wet sand after it landed, taking two people who were on the beach with it. We were unfortunately very near the landing spot and were playing football.
‘It passed over the football pitch and we had to move back to avoid being hit ourselves.
‘A large group of people surrounded the plane immediately. One of its wings was broken.’
Police said two men on the plane, an instructor and his pupil,girl have who beenhad died been with is arrested.her believed parentsThe to who were unhurt. She is not thought to have been related to the sunbather who died, a 56-year-old man. Witnesses said the plane passed over his legs as he lay on a towel. The nationalities of the girl and the man were not known last night. Hundreds of people were on the beach at the time the plane came down yesterday afternoon and it was reported that several other sunbathers were also hit and were treated at the scene.
Joao Quadros, a scriptwriter, said he had gone to get his son, who had been standing near where the plane came down, after getting a shiver down his spine minutes before. ‘ We missed it by metres,’ he added. Of the incident, which he described as brutal, he said: ‘The mother saw the plane hit the head of the girl.’
The tragedy happened on a stretch of the beach, which is popular with locals, near to the Bicho d’Agua and Leblon restaurants.
Photographs from the scene showed the plane by the waterline surrounded by firefighters as sunbathers in swimming shorts and bikinis looked on.
Police chief Paulo Isabel confirmed that the instructor and pupil were being questioned. He said: ‘Naturally there were a lot of people on the beach at the time and this incident could have caused many deaths and many injuries.’
The plane involved was described as a Cessna-152 belonging to a local air club. It was built in 1978 and has a cruising speed of around 90mph.
Investigators are believed to be probing a possible mechanical failure.